The Citizen, 2017-10-05, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2017.
Festival, Blyth restaurants see IPM spin-off
Taking the show on the road
Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt, left, and the cast of The Pigeon King were one of
the musical attractions in the Huron County showcase at last month's International Plowing
Match in Walton. The group performed songs from the show and encouraged match -goers to
make their way to Blyth for the show's extended run. The run paid off, as they sold hundreds
of tickets to the shows during the match. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
While it was a difficult decision
for the committee behind the
International Plowing Match (IPM)
to close the Tented City on
Wednesday, Sept. 20, the displaced
campers and visitors to the area took
advantage of all that the surrounding
municipalities had to offer.
The Blyth Festival offered a
special $10 off promotion to people
affiliated with the IPM - be they
volunteers, campers or visitors - and
it brought nearly a full house's worth
of theatre -goers to see this year's hit
production of The Pigeon King.
"We had 300 tickets sold to people
who identified as being part of the
IPM," Festival General Manager
Rachael King said. "I'm sure there
were others who joined who may not
have used the discount or may not
have known about it."
King said there could be 400 or
more people who came to see shows
throughout the week as a result of
the IPM.
"We had visitors from as far away
as Ohio and Ottawa who came to see
the show," she said. "We also
definitely had an uptake in tickets on
Wednesday."
King said the interest from visitors
helped to further bolster the
long-term goal of expanding the
Blyth Festival's annual season.
"This was a great opportunity with
a captive audience and they took
advantage of the fact that the play
was available," she said, adding that
the attendees of the IPM would find
the subject matter of the play
particularly interesting.
King said that, beyond showing
that an expanded season is feasible,
taking the chance on having shows
this late into September allowed the
show and the Festival to find a wider
audience.
Anne Elliott of Blyth's Queens
Bakery said the restaurant saw a
significant increase in business
during the IPM, especially on
Wednesday when IPM -goers
weren't able to enter the Tented
City.
Elliott said many visitors who had
travelled to the area for the IPM on
Sept. 20 instead found their way to
Blyth when faced with the closure of
the Tented City. Elliott said many of
the visitors found their way to the
restaurant and Elliott and the
bakery's employees suggested ways
to spend their time.
"We suggest people stay in the
village and visit the leather shops,
Maple and Moose, the Blyth Festival
and the other restaurants in the area,"
she said. "That's what we usually do
with other visitors.
The bakery was one of five local
LED conversion is a
no-brainer: McGregor
Continued from page 19
per cent and now is at two per cent
because the arms are typically in
good shape.
"We're not near a saline body of
water, so the arms will typically be
in good shape," he said.
Councillor Trevor Seip wanted
council to be aware that the original
plan for funding the project called
for money to continue being
collected at the same rate after the
price was paid off and put into a
reserve fund to maintain the lights.
Outgoing temporary Public Works
Director Larry McGregor confirmed
Seip's statement, though he did say
maintenance on the LED system is
less than the existing streetlight
program.
"The payback [period] is six years
and, after that, the savings will come
back into the municipality's coffers
as found money," he said. "As far as
maintenance, I've been through this
with Perth South, and maintenance
costs drop significantly. The fixtures
last 15 -plus years and they are under
warranty for 10 years. It's really
kind of a no-brainer."
The contract will be brought to
council at a later date.
See histories and
historic photographs
on the Huron History
section of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
businesses, including Part II Bistro,
the Blyth Inn, Blyth Cowbell
Brewing Company and the Blyth
Festival, that had special post card -
style flyers available at the IPM
grounds which entitled those
carrying them to discounts in the
village.
She said it was a successful joint -
advertising campaign that brought
many people from the IPM in all
week.
"People came with or without the
cards all week," she said. "It really
put a bug in people's ears and we
had a tremendously good week."
Don Scrimgeour of Scrimgeour's
Food Market said he and his staff
didn't know what to expect going
into the week the International
Plowing Match would be held
minutes from his store.
"The only thing we had to
compare it to was the annual reunion
of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and
Hobby Association," he said.
"However, it was totally different
than that."
Scrimgeour said that on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday the store
was unusually quiet during the day,
however after 4 p.m. each day,
business picked up.
"We had better days than normal
after those rushes at night," he said.
Friday and Saturday, he said, were
great days.
The biggest difference between
the IPM and the reunion, however, is
that Scrimgeour supplies many of
the food booths that operate at the
reunion.
"We didn't do that for the IPM,"
he said. "Over the weekend,
however, we did sell a lot of bread
products, so someone may have
come in and bought that if they ran
out at the IPM."
Scrimgeour said the week was
very positive for the company, and
many nice, enthusiastic people
visited the store.
Peter Gusso of Part II Bistro said
the entire week was good, though he
wasn't always at the helm of his
business during the week.
"We had people using the
vouchers and people just finding
their way to us," he said. "We
definitely saw an increase over last
year at the this time."
Gusso said he loved seeing the
theatre being open longer. He also
said Saturday was a record-setting
day for his business, where his
second -in -command in the kitchen
Wyatt Ducharme served a record
number of patrons.
Gusso was also a part of the IPM,
cooking in The Road to the Royal
demonstration on Sept. 19. He and
fellow Huron County Chef James
Eddington of Eddington's of Exeter
were invited to Toronto to compete
in the event in November after their
demonstration.
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